Tag: sunset

We got up early again, && were super ready to go white water river rafting. We got there at 8:20 in the morning and were ready to set sail at 9:00. Before we went out, we got our safety training and hung out until the rest of our boat got there.

&& here’s Jason!! Our newest Canadian friend.

After our 2 hour trip we stopped at the best burger joint in the USA.

&& then finally entered the park!! (note the sign)

About 5 minuets into the park we went through Wyoming. For those of you who did not know, Yellowstone National Park is technically located in three states; Montana, Idaho & Wyoming.

We explored the park for 4 1/2 hours before hitting Old Faithful. I took so many cool pictures is was really hard to pick which ones to put up. One cool/disgusting thing about the Hotsprings & Geysers is that you can smell them before you see them. They have this distinct STRONG smell of rotten eggs but worse. The steam that comes out of the ground makes the area so hot/smelly that you can 100% smell a spring before you even know its there.

Here’s a fun fact: Hotsprings and Geysers move. So the park rangers of Yellowstone are constantly updating trails and view points due to the activity of the springs.

We were so hot from driving that we took a quick dip in the river.

&& then we saw Old Faithful.

After Old Faithful, we only had one more stop before we headed out of the park. Sad that we didn’t see any animals, Katie pretended to be a bear to make me & bri smile 🙂

&& here is the waterfall at the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.

As we were leaving we finally saw an animal!!!

We left the park out of the east exit. We had to drive through this part of the park and it was really sad to see. 100’s of millions of trees on several mountains were destroyed by a forest fire. It was unbelievable how much destruction there was. 😦

After leaving that part of the park we got to see another beautiful sunset.

Today was a lot of fun && we got to see so many cool things. I’d love to go rafting again in a more intense river! Tomorrow we see Mount Rushmore before heading to Chicago.

After two days in San Francisco, we were ready to leave and head to go see Napa Valley. We caught a quick breakfast in Washington Square && had this to look at while eating.

About forty senior citizens (all of asian decent) doing aerobics to some strange music in the park.

After the show, we headed to Napa Valley to go check out a winery. We chose V. Sattui Winery since they had great reviews on yelp & yelp has not failed us yet.

The vineyard was really pretty and we got to taste some really good cheese. Unfortunately, I did not get to taste any wine since we had a long drive ahead of us to Oregon, but I did buy a bottle for someone special. After hanging for a bit, we got back on the road en-route to Florence.

The weather was perfect outside & the scenery was gorgeous. So of course it was a windows down kind of cruise.

But our relaxation ended there since we ran into a wild fire.We were stopped bumper to bumper for about 45 minutes only to start driving & find out we had to turn around completely. It was either sit on the side of the road for god knows how long, or take a 3 hour detour.

So we went swimming instead!

Saw this really strange tree. It was like plastic on one side & burnt bark on the other.

Then we got back onto the road and chose to take the 3 hour detour up the coast.

Got to see the sunset again.

Then we made it to Oregon around midnight. WE SAW A MOUNTAIN LION on the side of the road. Obviously terrified to get out of the car, we were unable to take our traditional state sign picture, so this is all we got.

We made it to our motel around 2:30 in the morning, to find the office closed. They were nice enough to leave me a note on the door telling me where I could find my room key.. under the door matt.. Tomorrow we are going to see the sea lion caves and then head to Portland.

We went to Paradise Cove in Malibu, where Baywatch was filmed.

After a short trip to the beach we had to leave && head to San Fransisco. Obviously do excited but we thought Gary should look good for San Fran so we gave him a bath.

Then, we hit up the infamous Highway 1. When I say it was

beautiful, that’s an understatement.

Pictures truly don’t do it justice. By far, this has been my favorite thing to see.

&& of course we had to get out an go play on the rocks.

&& then it was back to the road.

We watched the sunset on the side of the road, on this private vista we found.

So corny, I don’t care, we found this heart shaped rock that was cracked into three pieces & we obviously took it as fate and kept them.

After we watched the sunset, we got back on the road && had to finish our drive to San Francisco in the pitch dark.

At least we had a lighthouse to illuminate the way.

We had dinner at Denny’s. Clearly a perfect fit for us as you can see by the Philly tour of America menu. Bri was super excited for the meal, as you can see by the picture below.

Today was probably my favorite sight seeing day thus far. The beach and the view off highway 1 were the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen. Honestly pictures don’t come close to actually experiencing it. It was the midpoint of our trip and do far my favorite day. We reached our hotel in San Francisco at 1:30 in the morning. Tomorrow we explore.